Reclaimed Water for Vineyard Irrigation in a Mediterranean Context: Life Cycle Environmental Impacts, Life Cycle Costs, and Eco-Efficiency

Kledja Canaj,Rocco Roma,Vito Cantore,Francesca Boari,Domenico Morrone,Mladen Todorovic

doi:10.3390/w13162242

Abstract

The agricultural sector in the Mediterranean region, is increasingly using reclaimed water as an additional source for irrigation. However, there is a limited number of case studies about product-based life cycle analysis to ensure that the overall benefits of reclaimed water do indeed outweigh the impacts. The Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life Cycle Costing (LCC) methods are used in this study to investigate the environmental impacts and costs of vineyard cropping systems when tertiary reclaimed water is used as a supplementary source of irrigation water (integrated system). The conventional production system utilizing 100% groundwater was used as a reference system. As a proxy for sustainability, eco-efficiency, which combines economic and environmental performance, was assessed. The LCA revealed that the integrated system could reduce the net environmental impact by 23.8% due to lower consumption of irrigation water (−50%), electricity (−27.7%), and chemical fertilizers (−22.6%). Nevertheless, trade-offs between economics and the environment occurred as an integrated system is associated with higher life cycle costs and lower economic returns due to lower crop yield (−9.1%). The combined eco-efficiency assessment (ratio of economic value added to total environmental impact) revealed that the integrated system outperformed in terms of eco-efficiency by 12.6% due to lower environmental impacts. These results confirmed that reclaimed water could help to ensure an economically profitable yield with net environmental benefits. Our results provided an up-to-date and consistent life cycle analysis contributing to the creation of a valuable knowledge base for the associated costs and benefits of vineyard cultivation with treated wastewater.

Highlights

The Apulia region represents a fundamental segment of Italian agriculture
Our results provided an up-to-date and consistent life cycle analysis contributing to the creation of a valuable knowledge base for the associated costs and benefits of vineyard cultivation with treated wastewater
Life cycle thinking is a fundamental aspect of determining the feasibility of water reuse for irrigation

Summary

Introduction

The Apulia region represents a fundamental segment of Italian agriculture. In this region characterized by the Mediterranean climate, water shortages, water imports from nearby regions, and the overexploitation of aquifers are all intertwined. All current climate changes and future scenarios in the Mediterranean area indicate significant and increasing water demand in the coming decades [1]. In this setting, efficient and sustainable irrigation methods are becoming increasingly important for sustaining crop production and socioeconomic prosperity. A comparison of linear products with their circular counterparts is required to determine the environmental implications and provide scientific guidance for the sustainable use of reclaimed water [3].

Methods

Results

Conclusion